


not a lie, an embellishment of the truth

by alfredolover119



Series: shipmas 2019 [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Diagon Alley, Engagement, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21941968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfredolover119/pseuds/alfredolover119
Summary: Scorpius was quite proud of himself. He had managed to go to Diagon Alley without Albus's knowledge. He did this frequently, but today was especially important. Today Scorpius would be buying Albus a Christmas present he would, hopefully, never forget.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Series: shipmas 2019 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558579
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	not a lie, an embellishment of the truth

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for choosing to read my story! This is a late posting of day seven of the twelve days of shipmas, a series of prompts by LittleRose13. The prompt for this story was, "There's no way you'd catch me shopping at Diagon Alley at this time of year!"
> 
> Enjoy!

Scorpius was quite proud of himself. He had managed to go to Diagon Alley without Albus's knowledge. He did this frequently, but today was especially important. Today, Scorpius would be buying Albus a Christmas present he would, hopefully, never forget. 

He knew it was last minute, but he feared he wouldn't have the patience to wait and give it to Al on Christmas Eve if he bought it any sooner. 

Diagon Alley was particularly busy that day. He supposed it was because it was the twenty-third of December. He wasn't the only one buying last minute Christmas presents.

He made his way to the shop he was looking for easily enough, though. However busy Diagon was, it seemed that Scorpius would be the only one shopping in that particular store. He had already picked out the present, he just needed to pick it up.

He was within mere feet of the store when he ran headfirst into someone. He recognized them instantly. He gathered his wits. "Long time no see!" (Correction: he _thought_ he had gathered his wits.)

Albus jumped back in surprise. He looked nervous for a moment before replacing the look with a suspicious grin. "Scorpius, we live in the same house. We ate breakfast together, like, two hours ago."

Scorpius grinned nervously and looked around desperately for anything to get him out of this conversation.

"What are you doing here?" Albus asked, wringing his hands out and shifting his weight nervously. Scorpius feared he looked every bit as nervous as Al did.

"Uh, nothing. What are _you_ doing here?" He peered at Albus. If Scorpius had been anyone else, it might have worked in getting Al off the trail. However, he just _had_ to be Scorpius.

"I… asked you first." Albus crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"Well, I asked you _second_." Scorpius was fully willing and able to play that game. They could be there for hours. Albus seemed to be aware of that.

He sighed, which signaled his defeat. "Christmas… present…s. What about you?"

Scorpius ignored the question and squinted his eyes at Albus suspiciously. "We mail-ordered all of our presents so we wouldn't _have_ to come into Diagon and deal with all this mess."

Albus closed his eyes and took a step towards Scorpius before stepping back again. He seemed to be collecting his thoughts. When he opened his eyes, he seemed more motivated.

"There was a complication with the present I got for you. I had to come into Diagon to pick it up." He sent Scorpius one of his trademark Albus-looks that could always get Scorpius to do anything. "So really, why are you here?" 

"Fine." Scorpius paused to pull Albus in for a hug. Albus grumbled, but he let himself be held.

Scorpius whispered into Albus's ear in the most persuasive voice he could manage, "I got you something really special, and you can't know what it is until I give it to you. I'm here to pick it up. I really would tell you if I could. How about I make it up to you when we both get home today?"

Albus pulled back and smirked. "You know how to get your way, huh?" Despite his words, he was blushing furiously. Scorpius could taste victory.

"I wasn't put into Slytherin for nothing." He placed a kiss on Albus's nose. "See you later?" 

"See you later." And with that, Albus walked away. Scorpius stayed in place until he was sure Albus was out of sight. He made his way into the shop and picked up the present. 

Yes, he wasn't put into Slytherin for nothing. Little did he know, the same could be said for Albus.

Scorpius went to work at St. Mungo's after picking up the present, and he returned home afterwards. Albus was already there, cooking dinner. Scorpius put his stuff down and went into the kitchen, approaching Albus from behind and wrapping his arms around his waist. He placed his head on Albus's shoulder. Albus simply hummed and continued stirring whatever was in the pot. Scorpius didn't necessarily care, because everything Albus cooked was good.

"Good evening, love," Scorpius said into Albus's ear. "How was your day?"

"Probably the same as yours. We ran into each other in Diagon this morning." Albus continued his cooking, but he leaned back into Scorpius's embrace.

"No, no. **There's no way you'd catch me shopping in Diagon Alley at this time of year.** " Scorpius tightened his hold on Albus's waist, hugging him tightly.

"I'm afraid to say that that simply cannot be true. I saw you. We had a short conversation." Albus rested his cheek on Scorpius's head.

"Must have been someone else." Scorpius really did not want to talk about what had happened this morning. He didn't trust himself not to tell Albus what he had bought.

"How strange! In that case, I ran into the most _dashing_ fellow this morning." Albus went along with the banter. Scorpius nestled his nose into Albus's neck. "He was being very secretive, though."

"Hypothetically, if I had been to Diagon this morning, I believe I would have had a similar experience." Scorpius breathed in Albus's scent. He smelled of smoke and chemicals. Scorpius was quite familiar with the scent. That's what he got for falling in love with a Potion's Master.

"I don't know how I feel about you talking to random men. Gonna have to put a ring on you so they'll stay away. I can't say I blame them, though." Albus chuckled, before his breath hitched, and his whole body went rigid.

Scorpius laughed, keeping his head buried deep into Albus's neck. Albus squirmed. "To save you from whatever grave you're trying to dig yourself," Scorpius mumbled, "I'm choosing to ignore that comment."

"You don't have to ignore it…" Albus said warily. Scorpius removed his head from Albus's neck and turned Albus around in his arms. 

"I don't?" Scorpius asked.

"I… Oh, bloody hell. I was supposed to wait to do this until tomorrow." Albus waved his wand and the heat under the pot turned off. 

"If you're going to do what I think you're about to do, I may slap you, Albus." Scorpius reached into his pocket and felt the small box resting there peacefully, unaware of the volatility of the situation.

"What? Propose? I thought we had agreed we wanted to get married, someday…" Albus crossed his arms over his body defensively. Scorpius reached out and ran his thumb along Albus's cheekbone.

"We did. I still do want to get married. In fact, I want nothing more than to be able to call you my fiancé right now. The timing is incredibly improbable, though." Scorpius grimaced while Albus looked on in confusion.

Scorpius sighed and pulled the box out of his pocket. He handed it over to Albus, whose eyes widened before he started laughing hysterically. "Why are we like this?" Albus asked, pulling his own small box out of his pocket and passing it over to Scorpius.

"We really need to get better at communicating." Scorpius opened the box Albus had handed him and found a diamond-encrusted ring. He remembered telling Albus that he didn't much care for an engagement _band_. A simple band of silver or gold or whatever just seemed boring. He didn't understand why that was what most men opted for. However, that was what he had gotten Albus. It fit him, and it was actually Albus's dad's engagement band. 

"I think this, more than anything, proves that we are perfect for each other." Albus reached out and slid the ring onto Scorpius's finger. Scorpius did the same for Albus. They gazed at each other for a moment before they both reached in for a hug at the exact same moment. 

"I love you so much," Scorpius said into Albus's ear. Albus squeezed him tighter.

"I love you more than words can even describe," Albus responded before pulling back to give Scorpius a kiss. 

Scorpius didn't think any Christmas gift could outshine this one.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, let me know with comments and kudos. Check me out on [Tumblr](https://whatsshakingbanana.tumblr.com/).


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